Toothbrush with polishing member

Abstract

The invention is directed to toothbrushes that include a handle, a neck a head, and a polishing member attached to the head, where the polishing member includes a base proximate the backside of the head and a plurality of projections of sufficient size and shape and disposed in a pattern on the base that are effective to provide polishing of teeth.

1. A toothbrush, comprising:
 a handle, 
 a neck, 
 a head, said head comprising a front side comprising a plurality of bristles and a backside opposite said front side; and 
 a polishing member attached to said head, said polishing member comprising a base proximate said backside of said head, and a plurality of projections extending upwards from said base, said projections having a size and a shape and being disposed in a pattern on said base of said polishing member that is effective to provide polishing of teeth, wherein said pattern comprises a plurality of concentric rings disposed about a center of said pattern, each of said concentric rings comprising said plurality of projections. 
 
   
   
     2. The toothbrush of  claim 1  wherein said shape of said projection is cylindrical. 
   
   
     3. The toothbrush of  claim 2  wherein the diameter of said cylindrical projections in an outer ring of said pattern is less than the diameter of said cylindrical projections in an inner ring of said pattern. 
   
   
     4. The toothbrush of  claim 2  wherein said toothbrush comprises a plurality of said patterns disposed along a longitudinal axis of said polishing member. 
   
   
     5. The toothbrush of  claim 4  wherein said polishing member further comprises a wall interconnecting each of said plurality of projections in said concentric rings. 
   
   
     6. The toothbrush of  claim 5  wherein said polishing member further comprises a scrubbing portion proximate a distal end of said polishing member. 
   
   
     7. The toothbrush of  claim 6  wherein said wall has a thickness of about 0.25 millimeters and a height from said base of said polishing member of about 0.3 millimeters. 
   
   
     8. The toothbrush of  claim 7  wherein each of said projections extends upwards about 1 millimeter from said base of said polishing member, the diameter of projections in an outer concentric ring in said pattern is about 0.9 millimeters, the diameter of projections in a middle ring in said pattern is about 1.07 millimeters, and the diameter of projections in an inner ring in said pattern is about 1.14 millimeters. 
   
   
     9. The toothbrush of  claim 6  wherein said backside of said head and said base of said polishing member are concave. 
   
   
     10. The toothbrush of  claim 1  wherein a cross-sectional area of said projections comprises a gradient. 
   
   
     11. The tooth brush of  claim 10  wherein said cross-sectional area of said projections in an outer portion of said polishing member are less than said cross-sectional area of said projections in an inner portion of said polishing member. 
   
   
     12. The tooth brush of  claim 10  wherein said cross-sectional area of said projections in an outer portion of said polishing member are greater than said cross-sectional area of said projections in an inner portion of said polishing member. 
   
   
     13. The tooth brush of  claim 10  wherein said cross-sectional area of said projections in an outer portion of said pattern are less than said cross-sectional area of said projections in an inner portion of said pattern. 
   
   
     14. The tooth brush of  claim 10  wherein said cross-sectional area of said projections in an outer portion of said pattern are greater than said cross-sectional area of said projections in an inner portion of said pattern. 
   
   
     15. The toothbrush of  claim 1  wherein said polishing member comprises a plurality of said patterns disposed along a longitudinal axis of said polishing member. 
   
   
     16. The toothbrush of  claim 1  wherein said polishing member further comprises a wall interconnecting each of said plurality of projections in said concentric rings. 
   
   
     17. The toothbrush of  claim 1  wherein the shape of said projections is selected from the group consisting of cylindrical, conical, rectangular, square, oblong, elliptical, oval, star, triangle and polygonal. 
   
   
     18. The toothbrush of  claim 1  wherein said polishing member further comprises a scrubbing portion proximate a distal end of said polishing member. 
   
   
     19. The toothbrush of  claim 1  wherein a cross-sectional area of a distal end of said projection is less than a cross-sectional area of a proximal end of said projections.